Cardinals roll over competition

(Above) GHV’s James Betz gets above the rim during Tuesday night’s game against West Hancock.  Betz scored 15-points for the Cards.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura boys picked up two big wins last week, moving their record to 4-0, 4-1.

GHV 75, West Hancock 47

The GHV boys came out strong and finished strong in a 75-47 romp over West Hancock (1-2, 2-2) at home on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The Cards jumped to an early 6-0 lead, but the Eagles fought back and got to within one-point, 10-9.  GHV went on a six-point run, 16-9, but West Hancock again closed the gap, 16-14. The first quarter ended with a 20-14 Cardinal lead.

GHV outscored the Eagles 14-8 in the second quarter to take a comfortable 34-22 lead into the half.

“West Hancock plays at a pace that can cause you to take quick shots.  Fortunately, we were hitting shots early in the game and grabbed a lead,” said Coach Joe Albertson.

The Cardinals opened the second half by scoring 12 unanswered points to go up by 20, 44-22.  GHV closed the third quarter with a 60-36 lead.

“I really liked how James Betz worked on the block in the third and his teammates did a great job getting him the ball,” said Albertson.

The bench was cleared during the fourth quarter, giving everyone a chance to play, as the Cards finished with the 75-47 victory.

Three players hit double figures for the night.  Johnny O’Connor led the way with 16 points and he was 2/4 from the three-point arc.  He was followed closely by Betz with 15 and Nick Joynt added 12.  Ryan Meyers added nine points, and Logan Dalbeck and Jared Graham each had six points.

Joynt led the team in rebounds with 10.  Betz and Meyers each grabbed six rebounds and Graham had five.

O’Connor, Graham and Dalbeck had three steals apiece.  Connor Burke and Meyers led the team in assists with six and five. O’Connor and Matthew Heinemann had two blocked shots apiece.

GHV 64, B-K 28

Belmond-Klemme was looking for its first win of the season when they hosted the Cardinals on Friday, Dec. 9.  The Broncos will have to keep looking, as GHV soundly defeated them, 64-28.

Early on B-K was playing with energy and did a nice job fining open shooters.  The Cards had a hard time making a bucket for the first four minutes of play.  Things took off when Logan Dalbeck, Jared Graham, Ryan Meyers and Connor Burke came into the game, forcing turnovers and getting to the rim.  GHV gained a 15-8 lead after the first quarter and stretched that to 35-17 by halftime.

“Ryan Meyers was a madman with the ball.  We had a nice lead going into the third quarter, but the boys really picked it up in the third,” said Albertson.

The Cardinals went on a 23 point scoring frenzy in the third quarter, while holding the Broncos to just four points.

The bench was cleared in the fourth quarter, giving everyone some ownership in the victory.

“It was a nice win, but we need to become more consistent as a team and put four good quarters together if we are going to win big games,” said Albertson.

Meyers and Nick Joynt had big nights for the Cards, scoring 18 and 14 points respectively.  James Betz added nine and Holden Hutcheson added six.

Meyers and Betz led the team under the boards with six and five rebounds respectively.

Johnny O’Connor led the team in assists with three.  Betz and Dalbeck had two blocked shots apiece.  Joynt led the Cards in steals with three, while Meyers, Hutcheson and O’Connor had two steals apiece.

The Cardinals travel to Lake Mills on Friday night for a Top of Iowa Conference showdown.